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Authors, sign in!So this evening on NBC Nightly News they were discussing a movement taking place across the country. Apparently some individuals believe that the answer to all these school shootings is to have students carrying concealed firearms. If it wasn't for the peacock in the background, reminding me I was on NBC, I would have thought I was watching some kind of fictional short story.
Yes we've been having school shootings, but let's look at what else we have that is on every campus.
- Immature people with little or no life experience
- Hormone driven young people
- Young people that enjoy drinking and in some instances, drug use
- Thousands of students, most of whom dress relatively similar to each other
Now think about handing them all a bunch of guns. We can expect people getting scared at night and shooting someone who IS NOT trying to hurt them but happens to be in the same place...
We can expect to see shootings based on jealousy. We can expect to see alcohol related accidents.
Even if we have a situation, like at VT or NIU, how many people are going to have the mental disposition to act responsibly. Police officers are selected and screened only to receive extensive training for these situations. Students are not, can not be, would not be prepared for this kind of situation.
Speaking of police, how could they even know who the real gunman is? If you have any problem imagining what this situation would be like just read soldier accounts of how civilians get shot in Iraq. The more people there are and the more guns there are in a given area, the more accidents there will be. I encourage you to let your state congressmen know that this can not be allowed.
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Comments (1)
I have to take issue with many of the points that you make.
First, you create a four-point prototype of the college student demographic, all points with negative connotation with respect to the handling, possession, and carrying of a firearm. What you ignore, either willfully or unintentionally, is that many of these students are over 21 years of age and are licensed to carry a concealed weapon by their state governments, and are permitted to carry that firearm (exact restrictions vary by state) in the majority of public locations, such as malls, restaurants, movie theaters etc. These people already have guns in all of these places, but tell me, how often do you hear about a CCW permit-holder:
-"getting scared at night and shooting someone who IS NOT trying to hurt them but happens to be in the same place"
-shooting someone "based on jealousy"
-being involved in an "alcohol related" shooting
-getting shot by police because the police were unable to determine "who the real gunman is"
Answer: Almost never.
When someone goes through the effort to acquire a CCW permit, they generally are concerned with obeying the law. That's why they get the permit. Drug use is already illegal, and in most jurisdictions it is a no-no to carry a weapon while under the influence of controlled substances.
If you want to make an argument against students having CCW permits, do so based on facts. The arguments you make are filled with logical fallacies in the form of false assumptions, non sequiturs and emotional appeals. The facts are that there are many law-abiding students (many of whom are ex-military/law enforcement) who have guns with them everywhere they go except for the sacred college campus, and the blood is not running in the streets.
Posted by PGFlorida
|
April 24, 2008 11:56 AM
Posted on April 24, 2008 11:56